Mute
by wolflover777
Summary: Fang's new neighbor, Max, was given vocal cord paralysis in an accident when she was younger. Max looks fine, but can Fang heal the broken part inside of her? Will they fall in love? Will Fang ever figure out what happened to her mysterious father? Fax
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Yes, I made another new story. This one just kind of hit me, and it's been bugging me ever since. So, here it goes! I don't own MR! This is all going to be in Fang's POV unless said otherwise. And, no, Iggy is not blind in this story.**

"Fang! Get down here! The new neighbors are coming over." my mom called. I sighed and walked out of my room and into the living room. My adoptive sister, Nudge (who was fourteen), was there with my fraternal twin brother, Iggy (Who was sixteen, like me. Obviously.). My mom, Chloe, had my black hair and dark brown eyes. They were so dark that they appeared black. And we both had olive skin.

My dad, Mike, had the same strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes as Iggy. He was also pale and tall like Iggy. Both of them were 6'4'', just two inches taller than me. But I was more built than them, so ha!

"I wonder what our new neighbors are going to be like. I hope they like us. What do you think, Fang?" Nudge asked. I actually gave you the edited version. She had this whole rant, but the above is all I got out of it.

I shrugged. I had always been the quieter one in the family. I just didn't like to talk a lot. This, of course, earned me the nickname of Mr. Tall, Dark, and Silent. Iggy and I were both "hot", and the girls were all over us. Iggy liked this. I, however, couldn't stand it, simply because I didn't like any of the girls that approached me. Plus, I knew that they didn't like me because of who I was, but because of how I look.

Nudge was pretty popular too. She was way into fashion, but, thank God, she was not a snob. She was just a perky chatter box fashionista. The guys liked her, and she had a boyfriend, Jake, that she really liked.

The doorbell ringing knocked me back into the present. Mom went to open the door. She led the Martinez family into the room. Valencia, aka Dr. M, the mom, was a Hispanic woman. She had dark hair and brown eyes. She smiled kindly at us, and she seemed to be nice enough.

There was another girl that looked to be Nudge's age. She was a younger copy of Dr. M, but her eyes seemed to be slightly darker than Dr. M's. She seemed like she'd be a really good friend for Nudge.

The smallest girl, who looked to be about eight, was adorable. Yes, call the cops, Fang said adorable. But it was true. She had on a little dress. Her blonde curls fell over her shoulders and her eyes were sky blue. She had this…angelic smile on her face that looked so innocent.

The next smallest kid, however, had a mischievous look about him. Almost exactly like Iggy's. He had blonde hair that was spiked up, and was wearing total camoflouge. His eyes were the same sky blue as his sister's.

But it was the last girl, the oldest, that caught my attention. She looked to be mine and Iggy's age, and she was _beautiful_. She had dirty blonde hair. The tips of her bangs were dyed a dark blue, somewhere in between normal blue and navy blue. There were also streaks of the same blue in her hair. She had her mom's eyes, and they kind of reminded me of melted chocolate. But her eyes had this…light in them that her mom's didn't. She had an athletic, but curvy body. She was wearing ripped black jeans and a green tank top. Green jacket with black paint splatters. Tied around her left leg was a green bandanna.

She was almost hidden behind the others, not like she was scared or shy, but more like she was used to them doing all the talking. In fact, she had this bored expression on her face. Her eyes seemed to lazily study the room as well as me and my family, but I could see the sharp attentiveness in them. Her whole body was tense and alert, yet she seemed so relaxed. It was only slight differences that most people would've missed. Luckily, I wasn't most people.

"Welcome to the neighborhood." Mom told them. "I'm Chloe, and this is My husband Mike. And these are our kids, James, Monique, and Nicholas. Although everyone calls them Iggy, Nudge, and Fang." She gestured to each of us as she said our names.

Dr. M smiled at her. "I'm Val, or Dr. M, as the kids' friends call me. This is Ella." She pointed to her younger copy. "This is Angel." The angelic girl. "And this is Zack, or Gazzy." Mischievous boy. "And back here is Maximum Ride. She kept her father's name when we were divorced. But everyone calls her Max."

The other kids said hi, except for Max, who just nodded to us.

"So, how are you guys liking the neighborhood so far?" Mike asked them. Ella, Angel, and Gazzy all started rambling about how cool it was. "Max?" my dad asked, noticing that she was silent. Max shrugged and nodded her head towards her siblings, silently saying that she agreed with them. At the rest of my family's confused looks, she sent her mom an exasperated look.

"Oh, right." Dr. M murmured. "Max had an…accident when she was younger. She has vocal cord paralysis, meaning she can't talk. So she speaks through gestures, sign language, or writing what she wants to say down. We're all so used to it that it's easy to forget that not everyone knows about it.

"Isn't it hard not to be able to talk?" Iggy asked.

Max's hand was flying, making several different signs. Ella watched her closely, then said, "She says that it does get annoying sometimes, but that she's used to it at this point." Max nodded and shrugged.

Everyone went up to my room. The walls were black, the bed was black, heck, everything was black. Max signed something to Ella. When I raised an eyebrow at her, she giggled and said, "Max says, 'Whoa, black much?'"

I rolled my eyes. "It's my favorite color." I said. I handed her a notebook and a pen, so Ella wouldn't have to keep translating for us.

_I can tell_. She wrote and showed me and the others. I rolled my eyes and sat on the bed. She noticed my acoustic guitar and gestured to it, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't mind." I told her. She picked it up and played a couple notes. To me, it sounded perfectly tuned, but Max frowned and started slightly adjusting the tuning knobs. She played it again and closed her eyes. Iggy started to ask what she was doing, but Ella clapped her hand over his mouth with a "Shh!"

Still with her eyes closed, Max continued tuning the guitar until it made the most beautiful, crystal clear sound that I'd ever heard come from it. Then she started strumming it. Recognizing the song, I started singing along with the tune.

_This town is colder now,_

Max seemed surprised by my voice, or maybe that I was singing with her playing, but she smiled and continued anyways.

_I think it's sick of us._

_It's time to make our move,_

_I'm shakin' off the rust._

_I've got my heart set_

_On anywhere but here._

_I'm staring down myself,_

_Counting up the years._

_Steady hands just take the wheel_

_And every glance is killing me._

_It's time to make one last appeal_

_For the life I lead._

_Stop and stare._

_I think I'm moving but I go nowhere._

_Yeah, I know everyone gets scared,_

_But I've become what I can't be._

_Oh oh_

_Stop and stare._

_You start to wonder why you're here, not there._

_And you'd give anything to get what's fair,_

_But fair aint what you really need._

_Oh, can you see what I see?_

_They're trying to come back,_

_All my senses push._

_Untie the weight bags,_

_Never thought I could…_

_Steady feet don't fail me now._

_Gonna run 'till you can't walk._

_Something pulls my focus out,_

_And I'm standing down…_

_Stop and stare._

_I think I'm moving but I go nowhere._

_Yeah, I know that everyone gets scared,_

_But I've become what I can't be._

_Oh, oh, oh_

_Stop and stare._

_You start to wonder why you're hear, not there._

_And you'd give anything to get what's fair, _

_But fair aint what you really need._

_Oh, you don't need._

Here, Max played some rhythms by herself for a few seconds before I came back in again. Max's playing softened some as I came back in.

_Stop and stare._

_I think I'm moving, but I go nowhere._

_Yeah, I know that everyone gets scared,_

_But I've become what I can't be._

_Oh, do you see what I see?_

We ended together and the others clapped. _You've got a great voice._ Max said **(AN: If I say Max says something, it means she wrote it on her paper. Just thought I'd clarify that.)**

"Thanks. You've got to teach me how to tune it like that. I've never heard that kind of sound come from it before." I said.

Max wrote something on the notebook and showed it to me, shrugging apologetically. _Can't. My hearing is better than most other people. That's why I can tune it so closely._ "Huh. Well, then you should tune all of our band's instruments." I told her.

"We're called The Flock. We've gotten pretty popular around here lately." Max nodded, agreeing to this.

"Maybe you could even play with us sometimes." I said. "You're really good." Max shrugged again. I decided to take that as a maybe. Max started fiddling around with my guitar again. I couldn't help but feel bad for her. It must suck, not being able to talk. And she was a closed off person. Not too easy to read. I was worried about how she'd fit in at school, and later offered to Dr. M to put Max in all of my classes, so I could show her around, and there would be someone she knew in all of them. Iggy was in most of my classes too, so that made it even better. Dr. M agreed, and seemed really happy that I was willing to take care of Max.

I went back upstairs to my room. Max was lying against my pillows. Her eyes were closed, her hands behind her head, and she looked asleep. But I knew she wasn't. She was too tense to be asleep. My point was proven when I sat on the bed, because her eyes snapped open to see who was sitting next to her. She nodded to me in acknowledgement, then closed her eyes again.

Angel curled up next to her, and Max wrapped an arm around the little girl. Gazzy did the same thing on her other side, and she did the same with him. "I'm tired, Max." Angel murmured.

Max smiled, but didn't open her eyes. She made a couple signs, which Angel watched closely. She smiled and rested her head against Max's shoulder, closing her eyes.

"What did she say?" I asked Ella.

"She said then go to sleep."

Max watched the TV blankly. She looked bored. She looked around my room again and her eyes fell on a picture. She frowned and grabbed it, looking at it closely. It was a picture of me and Nudge when we were little. It was actually the first day that she'd come back. I was actually smiling in the picture, instead of my usual smirk or half-smile. Max smiled slightly and put the picture back on my nightstand.

My mom called us down for dinner. The others ate and talked happily. I struck up a conversation with Max, and found that I could read her gestures and facial expressions easily. She seemed surprised by this, as did the others. When I asked why, Ella just told us that nobody could read Max like that. It seemed to make Max uneasy, like she didn't like the fact that I could read her. But I guess the fact that she could read me just as easily made up for it.

"So, Max, where did you learn to play?" I asked her.

She shrugged and wrote _Dad taught me._ "Where is your dad?" I asked. Pain, anger, and sadness entered her eyes, and I knew I hit a nerve. _I don't want to talk about it._ she replied.

"Max! It's time to go back home!" her mom called.

"See you tomorrow?" I asked. It was summer vacation, so it's not like we had to worry about school.

She smirked and wrote, _Talk in complete sentences?_ But she nodded and waved, walking towards her family and out the door. I smirked. Things definitely just got a lot more interesting. Max wasn't snobby and slutty like the other girls around here. She was tough, sarcastic, funny, _beautiful_, and, deep down, she had a softer side that we rarely got to see. I think this summer was going to be fun.

**AN: So, review and tell me what you guys think. And don't worry, even when Max can't talk, she'll still make people look like idiots. She's just cool like that. And we get to see Lissa vs. Max in the next chapter. So review, and I might update faster. *hint, hint***


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I'm sad. I have to take my VOCAT tomorrow. That makes me do this: :(. So, yeah, I'm not happy. But here's the next chapter.**

"Why are we here again?" I asked.

_Because Nudge, Ella, and Angel used Bambi Eyes on us._ Guess who that was. If you guessed Max, you win nothing! Hurray! We are currently at the mall, being tortured by Nudge, Ella, and Angel as they dragged us from one store to another. It was even worse for Max. You should've _seen_ the disgusted face she made when Nudge tried to get Max to try on a pink shirt. She almost killed her. I was actually concerned for my adoptive sister's health.

"Because, Max's fashion style is horrible." Nudge replied.

Max rolled her eyes and gave Nudge a _I'm still here you know._ look combined with a _I don't really appreciate your opinion._ look. Max walked away from us and I saw her go into a hot topic across the hallway.

"I think we should get Max a green hoodie." Angel said, holding up a lime green hoodie.

"No, blue would go much better with her skin tone." Ella said, a baby blue hoodie already in her hands.

"No, I think she'd like the lavender better." Nudge said, holding up a light purple hoodie.

"Green."

"Blue."

"Lavender."

This continued on for a while before Angel asked, "What do you think, Fang?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Honestly? I think she'd kill all of you for even suggesting any of those colors."

"And he's right." a voice said behind us. We turned to see Dr. M standing next to Max. "Her words, not mine." Dr. M added. I suspected Max to be angry or surprised, or maybe even amused that they were having this kind of a fight. Instead, she didn't look surprised or angry, but she did look a little amused. She reached in her Hot Topic bag and pulled out a black hoodie with red paint splatters on it. Then she made two signs.

"I win." Dr. M translated. "I don't know, Max. I think you should add more color to your wardrobe."

Max rolled her eyes and made some more signs. "I don't think she agrees." I said.

Dr. M shook her head. "She says that she has plenty of color already."

Max shrugged with a _it's true_ look before walking out of the store, the rest of us following her. She ended up leading us to the food court.

And that's when I heard a familiar squeal, like a dying cat. Lissa. Ugh, kill me now. I turned in time to see her latch onto my arm. "Fangy-poo!" she cried. "I missed you so much! Why haven't you come to see me over the summer?"

I rolled my eyes. Max was smirking at me, an amused expression on her face. She was obviously getting a kick out of this. In fact, I could see her shoulders shaking as she chuckled. She pulled out her small notebook and wrote something. _Fangy-poo? _she asked, discretely showing me the book. She wrote something else. _I don't think there's a sign for that. She your girlfriend or something?_

I shook my head before looking down at Lissa. "I'm here with some friends right now. I don't have time for this, Lissa." I told her.

"Well, we don't have to do this…" she trailed off, whispering in what was supposed to be a seductive voice. Key words: supposed to be.

I saw Max make a disgusted face. She wrote something down and tapped Lissa's shoulder. _There are children around. Can you try to _not_ act like a slut?_

I chuckled, but Lissa's face turned red. "Who are you?" she asked.

Max switched to signs. Ella translated for her. "She says that she's new around here. We all are. We just moved next door to Fang, Iggy, and Nudge."

"Well, I guess that explains it. Look, I could make your life around here miserable. I would be a bit nicer if I were you, mutey." Lissa sneered. Wow. That was a _horrible_ comeback. I mean, _mutey_? Geez, I can't stand this girl.

Max rolled her eyes and wrote something down. _Then thank God you're not me. Besides, what are you going to do, spread around some rumors? Ruin my rep? I don't care about that crap. _

"I can do a lot more than that." Lissa hissed, trying, and failing, to be threatening.

_Yeah? Well, how about this? Leave me and my family alone or else you're going to get an express trip to the ER and the dentist. Then we'll see who's the miserable one._ Max glared at her, giving her one of the scariest glares I've ever seen.

Lissa paled, and Max smirked. "I think it's time for us to go. It was…nice to meet you Lissa." Dr. M said.

We continued walking to the food court. Max smirked, looking pretty darn proud of herself. "Why did you switch from signs to writing?" I asked her.

She chuckled and wrote something down. All of us looked to read it. _Ella would never say that in a MILLION years. She and Angel are the nice, sweet ones, Gazzy is the mischievous trouble maker, and I'm the violent, sarcastic one._

Ella rolled her eyes. "What? You know it's true." Gazzy said as we got in line for Sub Way. These guys crack me up.

(Max's POV)

We went to my house after we were done at the mall. Iggy and Nudge gasped when they saw my room, and even Fang's eyes widened. I had painted my room myself. My door had my room spray painted on in black, with red and gray around it. The walls were painted as a dark sky, complete with stars and a full moon. There were trees painted a dark green, so dark it almost looked black. There was a detailed painting of a falcon right above my bed. _What? Did you think music was the only talent I had?_ I wrote, smirking.

"You're _good_." Nudge said, spinning to get the whole view of the room. I looked at her in shock. So did the others. That's the shortest thing I've _ever_ heard her say. I nodded in a "Thank you." fashion.

"How'd you do this?" Iggy asked.

I rolled my eyes. _With my amazing powers. Don't you have them?_ I asked him. _You know, some paint and a brush can go pretty far._

"I can't believe you did this." Fang said. "This is…amazing."

"Come on. She did our rooms too." Ella said, ushering them out of my room and into hers. Her door had her name in pink, with a light blue background. The walls were painted light blue, like the sky, with white clouds. There was green grass, and a bunch of dogs playing. Over in another corner, there was a cat on a gray fence licking it's paw.

"She loves animals. She wants to be a vet, so she asked Max to paint her room like this." Angel explained.

Ella grinned at me. I grinned back. I was crazy about my siblings. I'd do anything for them. The others were looking around the room in amazement. Again. Gazzy ushered them into his room. It was one of my best paintings. His name was painted on in camo, but it still looked like the graffiti writing I'd made all of our names in. When we walked into his room, a dark sky and a plain field. In the left corner, an explosion was going off. You could see military guys with guns running around and shooting at an unseen enemy.

Angels name was painted in white with a black background. There was a gold halo over the A. The inside of her room was light blue sky and white clouds. There were angels flying around. They had the white wings and gold halos, but then it branched off from your average angel. They were all kids, wearing normal clothes instead of those white robes. They didn't have harps. They were laughing, and chasing each other around.

One of the kids was Angel herself. It was originally supposed to be her and her old friends from school, but she insisted that I put Gazzy and Ella in there too. She wanted me to paint myself as well, but I refused. I didn't consider myself an angel. I wasn't…I was violent, sarcastic. I've hurt people before. I'm definitely not angel material.

Fang, Nudge, and Iggy smiled when they saw this one. "Dude, can you do my room?" Iggy asked. "Maybe you could paint me some beach bunnies?" I glared and smacked him upside the head. Sexiest pig.

Fang was studying the wall intently, frowning now. I got his attention and raised an eyebrow. "Why aren't you here? I see Angel, Gazzy, and Ella, but not you."

I shrugged. "She doesn't believe she's 'angel material'." Ella said.

Fang frowned. "Why not?"

I looked away again. "She–" Angel started, but Ella cut her off.

"–thinks that that isn't anybody's business unless she tells them herself." I smiled at Ella, thanking her. She grinned back at me.

"Max! It's time for dinner! Get your friends down here!" Mom yelled, ending the awkward moment between us. I smirked and gestured for them to head downstairs. I looked around the room one more time before closing the door.

"So do you draw too?" Fang asked me. I nodded. "Can I see some of your work?" _Sure. But it'll have to be after dinner. I'm hungry._ I replied. He smirked and shook his head. "Right. Me too."

**AN: Sorry if this wasn't very good. This is just really a filler chapter. I wasn't very sure what to write. So, review, and tell me how I can improve.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Orlando is tiring! Disney World is torture when you are short and your sister and her friends have long legs, so you basically have to jog the whole day to keep up. But I digress. Here's the next chapter, hope you like it, and review!**

**P.S. I don't own Maximum Ride. JP does.**

It was just Max and I in her room after dinner. The others had run off to do…something. Max had promised to show me some of her artwork. I remembered what Ella had told me at dinner, when Max had gone to get everyone's drinks.

_"She lied to you, you know." Ella said. The statement sounded so casual, but her eyes were sharp._

_ I was shocked. "Why would Max lie to me? And what about?"_

_ Ella shrugged. "About her singing. She used to sound like an angel, before the 'accident'. She always said she was bad." she replied, using air quotes around "accident". "I don't know why she lied though."_

_ I frowned. "Why the air quotes?"_

_ "Mom calls it an accident, but it wasn't. It was…well, that's Max's business. I can't tell you about it. It's for Max to decide who knows and who doesn't know." Ella said, her eyes sad. "But she hasn't told anyone yet. The only reason why we know is because we're family." She gestured to herself and her mom. "Gazzy and Angel are too young to know. That's why Mom calls it an accident."_

_ I let this sink in, then nodded. "Thanks for telling me." I said. "I really appreciate it." I looked down the hallway that Max had gone down. It led to the basement. "Man, I wish I could hear her sing."_

_ I wonder what she'd sound like_, I thought to myself as she pulled out a sketchbook. She handed it to me and I flipped through it. It was freaking _amazing_. There was everything from birds, to instruments, and even portraits of her family. They were all done with so much detail, they looked like pictures. "Jesus." I murmured. "How the hell did you do this?"

I looked up to see Max smirking. _Impressed much?_ she wrote. Then she wrote something else and showed it to me with a shrug. _I've always had a passion for music and art. I've been drawing and playing since before I can remember._

"And singing?" I asked. She stiffened, her eyes widening some. "Ella told me about how you used to sing. She said that you used to sing like an angel. I also recall her saying something about you believing you're not 'angel material'. Seems like that's a little contradicting." I smirked up at her, but she was glaring at her door, like she was debating whether to go out there and kill Ella now, or wait until there isn't any witnesses.

"Look, just relax, Max." I said, then gave a frustrated sigh when I realized it rhymed. I saw Max's shoulders shake in silent laughter. "You don't have to hide stuff from me. But I'm not going to force you to talk. I'll wait until you want to talk to me, alright?"

Max sighed and nodded. _You have a _long_ wait ahead of you._

"You know, I'm thinking about learning sign language." I told her. I mean, it would be easier for her to communicate with us if I did. Then she'd have someone outside of her family that understands her.

Max looked surprised. _Why?_ she asked, giving me a bewildered look.

I shrugged. "I figured it'd be easier for you to communicate with us. Plus, you know, saves paper. Everyone's going green now." I said, giving her my signature half smile.

She smiled back. _You should smile more often._ she said.

I smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Why, you think it's hot?" I asked her, just joking around.

She glared at me, but she blushed. Max Ride actually _blushed_. I laughed when I saw that. She smacked me upside the head and shoved her notebook in front of my face. _No! I meant that it makes you look like an actual teenager. You look relaxed and not like a closed off emo kid._

I sighed in frustration. "I'm not emo! Why does everyone say that?"

_Because you're quiet, closed off, and you wear all black, all the time. That's your stereotypical emo kid. I don't think it's that bad though. It's just…Fang. But you should smile more._

I shrugged. "Whatever you say." I replied. I waved the sketchbook. "Do you have any more of these?" I asked. She nodded. "Can I see them?"

She shrugged and smirked. _Like it that much, do you?_ she said, shaking her head. She didn't give me a chance to answer. She just started moving towards her desk. She grabbed another sketchbook and gave it to me. This one was full of nothing but birds. From the harmless canary to the peregrine falcon. They were all amazing.

I looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. Like usual, she read me like a book. _I really like birds. It's something that me and my Mom share. They're so fascinating. I mean, haven't you ever dreamed you could fly before? They can do something that no other creature can do._

I took her notebook and wrote, _Hey look! I'm doing something that no other creature can do!_

She rolled her eyes and took her book back. _Smartass._ I laughed and dodged as she took another swat at my head. _You suck, you know that?_

"Oh, come on! You know you love my sense of humor." I said, grinning up at her. She stopped for a second, then grinned back. _That's what I mean. Nudge and your parents both agree. Even IGGY said that you need to show just a little more emotion. Not much, because that wouldn't be Fang, but just a little._

"Alright, alright! You win. I'll smile just a little more, okay?" I said, rolling my eyes.

She grinned at me, and I couldn't help but smile back. _Sweet. Come on, Ella told me that we're going to have movie night._ I nodded and we ran downstairs. Nudge, Iggy, and I had to run back to our house to get some pajamas, since we decided to speed the night at Max's house.

Max and I sat on the couch, while all the others laid in sleeping bags on the floor. There was other chairs, but they said that it would be more of a sleepover this way. They even moved the other chairs so that they'd have enough room.

Half way through the movie, I felt a slight weight on my shoulder. I looked down to see that Max had fallen asleep, and her head had fell on my shoulder. I smiled and laid back so that we were both laying down. The next thing I remember is letting the darkness of sleep take over.

**So there's your chapter guys. I'm sorry if it's not very good, but I wrote it pretty late at night. So review and tell me what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hello people. I'm still in Orlando, watching some weird movie. So, here's the next chapter of Mute. Enjoy!**

**I don't own MR. That's all JP's responsibility.**

I woke up the next morning to giggling. I groaned and sat up. This, of course, woke up Max, who was still on my chest. We both looked around sleepily, just to see that everyone, including Max's mom, was watching us.

"You guys are so cute together!" Ella squealed. "It's too bad Mom didn't let us take pictures."

Max shot her rolled her eyes and got up, stretching her back. I winced when it popped. "That can't be good for your back." I informed her. She just shrugged in return and started heading upstairs. "Where are you going?"

She turned and rolled her eyes at me before gesturing to her pajamas. Ah, she was going to go change. I nodded, showing her that I understood. When she came back down, she was dressed in ripped blue jeans and a tank top. Nudge and Iggy gasped when they saw here, and my eyes widened to about the average size of freaking dinner plates. Max had scars across her arms, chest, and back. Her hair was up in a ponytail, and we could see a nasty scar on her neck, the cause of her vocal cord paralysis.

"Max, what happened?" Nudge asked.

Max stiffened as she realized her mistake. She shook her head. "You didn't really think that through." Ella told her, raising an eyebrow.

Max glared. _They're freaking scars. Everyone has some_, she wrote on her ever handy notebook.

"Yeah, but not to this extent." Iggy said.

"Enough." I said. "Let's not push it. She'll tell us if she wants to, and if she doesn't, then oh well. Don't pry. It's rude."

Max nodded to me in a _thank you_ fashion. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to know about the scars just as much as the others. We were all worried about it. But I knew that if we kept bugging her about it, she would just push us farther away. She was just like that. And I know I've known her for only a couple days, but I could read her well. I understood her.

The others didn't look happy, but they went off to go find something to eat. Max sighed. _Thanks_, she said.

"Does this have to do with your accident?" I asked her. When she gave me a wary look, I added, "You don't have to tell me about it. Just yes or no. Please."

She looked away, torn. Then she looked at me and her gaze was intense, sad and filled with pain and hatred. She nodded once, then led me to the kitchen.

"Do you think you'll ever tell us? I mean, it doesn't have to be soon. It could be decades from now. But _will_ you ever tell us?" I asked, curious.

She smirked. _One day. Maybe._

I playfully frowned at her. "That's not yes or no." I said, shaking my head in mock-disappointment. I was just trying to cheer her up at this point. And I think it worked because she flashed me a grin before we walked into the kitchen. She took down two bowls and got down some Frosted Flakes. She showed me the box and raised an eyebrow. _Is this okay?_

I smirked. "Those are fine." I replied.

She nodded and got the milk out of the fridge. She got the cereal ready and grabbed the coffee pot and got down a cup. "I'll have some of that too." She didn't answer, obviously, but she did get down another cup and pour the coffee. She handed me both my cereal and coffee before taking hers and going back to the living room.

Max sat on the couch and turned the TV on. Gazzy sat next to her, and I sat on her other side. "Ooh! Mythbusters!" Gazzy yelled excitedly. Max smiled and went back to Mythbusters. "Thanks, Max!"

Max signed something to him, giving him a stern look. He smiled sheepishly. "Yes, Max."

"What'd she say?" Iggy asked.

"That she better not see me try to recreate some of their more…explosive scenes." he replied, grinning proudly.

"He builds bombs." Angel clarified. "Max has been threatening him since he blew up her room."

_When he was four! And there was hardly anything left of my room. You would be ticked too!_ she said defensively.

"You build bombs too?" Iggy exclaimed, ignoring Max's short rant.

"Trust me. I know what you mean." I said, glaring at Iggy. Max looked kind of surprised, then she hung her head in her hands and made this weird groaning noise. _Not another one! What did I do to deserve this? No one deserves this kind of punishment!_

"I agree with that. I mean, why can't you blow up your own stuff? You're always using everyone else's and it's so annoying! Like, last year, Iggy blew up my favorite skirt last year. I was so mad! And then he blew up Fang's watch and Fang almost killed him!" Nudge said.

I smacked Iggy upside the head at the memory. "That was my favorite watch." I growled, glaring at him.

Iggy cowered away from me. "Dude! I'm sorry! Geez!" he yelled.

Max smirked and shook her head. _Siblings. They just love to get on your last good nerve._ she said.

"True that." I said.

Suddenly, a phone went off. Max took a phone out of her pocket and flipped it open.

"Why do you have a phone if you can't talk?" Nudge asked.

Ella rolled her eyes. "She can't talk, but she can text." she said.

Max scowled at her open phone and flicked it closed before chucking it across the room. "Maximum!" Dr. M said sternly. "If you break that phone we aren't getting you a new one!" Max grimaced in the direction of her phone and reluctantly went to pick it up.

"Sam?" Ella asked knowingly. Max nodded, obviously annoyed.

"Who's Sam?" I asked.

"He's her ex. He cheated on her with this other girl. After Max figured it out, he was all, 'Forgive me. I didn't mean it.', and 'Let's just forget about her. Or, there's my personal favorite. 'Come on, baby, you know you're the only one for me.'" Ella said, rolling her eyes. "You should've seen him after Max was done. She beat the living heck out of him."

Max nodded. _Don't even know what I saw in him. He was a wimp anyways. I think it was his accent. Damn those accents. They're just so…_ She stopped here, trying to look for a word. _Alluring?_ That was directed to Ella.

She nodded. "Attractive. Sexy. Any of those would work."

"What was his accent?" I asked, feeling a pang of jealousy. Why would I be jealous?

_Italian._ Max replied. _He wasn't even that good looking either. It's one of those relationships that you look back on and say, 'What was I _thinking_?'_

"Max? What does alluring mean?" Angel asked innocently. Gazzy also looked confused.

_Alluring that the person or trait is appealing._ Max replied. Seeing that they were still confused, she sighed and added, _It's a trait that you really like about a person. But in more of a 'I really like you' way, not a 'You're a really good friend' way. _

"Oh. Okay." Angel said.

"Italian, huh? I wish I could date an Italian guy. Their just so sexy." Nudge said dreamily.

Iggy rolled his eyes. "Who needs somebody from Italy when we have Cali beach bunnies right here in the good ol' U.S. of A?"

Max smacked him upside the head and rolled her eyes. "That's her 'Sexist Pig' look." Ella supplied.

I sighed. "You guys are too noisy." I said. Max sat beside me on the couch again. _Technically, I can't be noisy. I'm mute._ Max told me, before turning to the TV. Dirty Jobs was on. I sighed. "Shut up. Why do you have to be so sarcastic?"

_It's in my blood. Mom's very sarcastic._

"What about your dad?" I asked.

Pain flashed in Max's eyes, and I knew I'd crossed the line, but she pushed it away and nodded. _He was very sarcastic too._ Ella was giving her a sad, worried look, while Angel and Gazzy just looked sad. _Want to go up to my room?_ Max asked. She was obviously changing the subject, but I went with it anyways and nodded.

When we got there, Max picked up her acoustic and started messing around with it. _Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon?_ she asked suddenly. I raised an eyebrow and shook my head. "I've never been that far west." I replied.

She got this distant look in her eyes. She shook her head, snapping out of it. She went over to a corner that looked like it had a bunch of paintings in it. She handed me one. It was the sun setting over the Grand Canyon. It was absolutely breathtaking. Every detail was perfect.

_My dad took me, a long time ago. I painted this a year after he died. I'd had the image burned into my head, and I'd wanted to paint it, but I kept screwing it up. Then, finally, I got it right. Out of all of my paintings, this is the one I'm most proud of._ Her eyes were distant and sad.

"I'm sorry about your dad." I said, quietly. "Max…how did your dad die?"

She looked at me, studying me for a minute. Her jaw and hands clenched for a second before she relaxed again. I was slightly scared that she'd punch me in the face, but then she surprised me by replying. _He died in an 'accident'._ she replied.

I looked up at her in shock. "The same…" She nodded, understanding my question. I went back to studying the painting, soaking in this new information. So, her dad died in the same accident that she was in. The one that made her mute. I looked up at her to find her looking at me. "Max…I'm so sorry about everything.

_It's not your fault._ she said. If she could talk she probably would've muttered it. She wasn't looking at me anymore. She was looking down at the painting. "Your dad…" She looked back up at me. "He sounds like he was a good man. Must've been to raise such good kids." I said, smiling at her.

She smiled gratefully at me. _He was._ she replied. _He was the best dad anyone could've hoped for. Always great to his kids, wife, everyone he met. I wish you could've met him. The two of you would've gotten along great. He was kind of like you. He talked a little bit more, but he was still quiet, and whenever he said something, it was always important._

"So, you think everything I say is important?" I asked, grinning.

She rolled her eyes. _No. But you're not like someone like Nudge, who spits out whatever's on her mind. You only say things that you think ar important or that matter._

"Yeah. I guess that sounds about right." I looked over at the corner of the room that had the paintings. "Can I see them?" I asked, pointing to the paintings. She nodded.

I stood up and grabbed the next one, bringing it back over to the bed. I carefully set it on the bed and just as carefully moved the other one back. I looked at the other one. It was of the moon and a hawk. It was more abstract looking that the Grand Canyon had been. "What did you use to do this?" I asked.

_It's an oil painting._ Seeing my confusion, she continued, _It kind of looks like chalk, but it falls apart easier. It makes some of the most beautiful work. Great for abstract art, that's for sure._

"It's amazing." I told her truthfully. "It's truly amazing."

And it was. They all were. And she was too.

**AN: Hope you guys enjoy the chapter. Sorry if it's not good, but I'm tired. Review and tell me what you think!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: I'm sorry for the long wait. I've had major writer's block on pretty much all of my stories, and I've been traveling a lot. Also, my sister's getting ready to move to college, so I'm a little busy right now. That's why I haven't been updating. I am sooooo sorry about the long wait. And to Wingz fr life, just because a story sounds like another one at first, doesn't mean it's the same. I actually read all of Muted, and loved the story, but my own story has a totally different plot line than that one. For instance, I won't tell you how Max got her scar that paralyzed her vocal cords, but I will tell you that, unlike in Muted, it was not because her father was abusive. There are actually a lot of details that are different from my story and Muted.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own MR.**

Nudge decided we needed to do something fun. So, what were we doing? We were going to a water park. Nudge, Ella, and Angel are currently trying to convince Max to drive us. They've been at it for twenty minutes. They tried to ask me, but I locked myself in my room and blasted the music up so I couldn't hear them.

"Come on, Max! _Please?_" Nudge begged, giving her Bambi Eyes.

"Yeah, it'll be fun!" Angel added with her own set of Bambi Eyes.

Max shook her head vigorously and avoided eye contact.

"Come on, Max!" Ella said. "You and Fang are the only ones that can drive and Fang already said no! We won't make you wear a bikini!"

Max glared at her sister. A big mistake on her part, since she saw Ella's Bambi Eyes. She quickly turned away, then sighed. _Fine. But Iggy and Gazzy have to come with us. I don't trust those two as far as I can throw them. Actually…scratch that. I'm sure I can throw them much farther than I trust them._ she relented.

The girls cheered, while Max just sighed and walked up to her room to change. She came back down in a black and red tankini and black board shorts with red lines going down the sides. She was pulling a shirt on over it, but not before I saw a bunch of scars on her stomach, and we could see the scars on her legs. A burning anger filled me as I thought about who could've inflicted such scars on her.

"It's funny. A lot of people would hide their scars, especially girls. But you don't." Nudge said.

Max shrugged and wrote, _I'm kind of used to it at this point. Besides, they'd be too much of a pain in the butt to hide._ I studied her and she shifted uncomfortably under my gaze. _So, who's ready to go?_ She seemed suddenly very perky. I had a feeling she was just changing the subject.

"Mom! We're leaving! We'll be back in a few hours!" Ella called.

Dr. M appeared at the top of the stairs. "Alright, but be careful. Max, you're in charge. Make sure they don't get into any trouble." she said, looking a little worried.

Max gave her a reassuring smile and a thumbs up. Then she headed out towards the car, the rest of us following her. We walked out to her sweet, black and red truck. Max and I sat in the front, with Angel in between us. Nudge, Iggy, Gazzy, and Ella sat in the back. It was a big truck.

And then we were off to the water park. Max was actually a pretty good driver. When we arrived, Gazzy jumped out of the car. "Yes! Let's go!" he said excitedly, running towards the entrance. Max's hand shot out and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back. She gave him a stern look.

_We go in pairs. Iggy and Gazzy, Nudge and Ella, and I guess me and Fang. Angel can go with whoever she wants. If anyone gets lost, we're meeting at the food court for lunch, so just head there. You know the rest of the rules. On your best behavior, remember stranger danger, and, Iggy and Gazzy, I swear, if you blow anything up, I'm killing both of you slowly and painfully._ she said, giving Iggy and Gazzy death glares. _I mean it._

They all nodded and headed their separate ways. Angel chose to go with Nudge and Ella, which surprised me. Angel was usually always following Max around. She really looked up to her.

I walked around with Max. "What do you want to do?" I asked.

_I don't know._ she replied. I'd been improving on the different signs, so Max left her notebook behind. Meaning she trusted that I'd be able to translate for her. _What do you want to do?_ She actually looked kind of bored. I guess this wouldn't be her first choice of a fun place to go. I looked over and saw a wave pool. You know, it looks like a beach, but occasionally a bunch of waves will come and crash over the people in it. **(AN: I haven't been to many water parks, so I don't really know what's there. Just bare with me and pretend.)**

I gabbed Max's wrist. "Come on." I said, grinning and pulling her towards the wave pool. She slowly smiled back at me and we got in together. We were just relaxing at first, but then, suddenly, Max jumped on my back. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and her legs around my torso. The unexpected weight caused us both to crash down into the water. The only difference being she was ready for it. I came up, sputtering and attempting to curse, But Max had her hand over my mouth. She signed something to me. _For shame, mister. There are children around._

I turned and looked at her over my shoulder. She grinned at me. I glared at her. She looked smug, glad that she'd gotten me. I grinned wickedly and jumped backwards, causing us both to go under the water. I felt Max's grip tighten around me, telling me she was surprised. I came back up, and this time it was Max glaring at me.

She let go and stuck her tongue out at me, proving just how immature she could be. I rolled my eyes at her and grabbed her wrist again. "Come on." I said, pulling her towards the shore. "Let's go find something to ride."

She cleared her throat, meaning she was trying to hide a laugh. She grinned at me. _That's what she said._

I stared at her, my eyes wide. And this is me, I don't show a lot of emotion. Max's shoulders were shaking as she laughed at me, her eyes shining in amusement. I felt a blush spread across my cheeks and cleared my throat. "I didn't know you liked that kind of humor. That's more Iggy's expertise." I said. Max just grinned in return.

She twisted her hand so that she was now holding my wrist, and started leading us off. She ended up finding this cool water slide. We got on together, with Max in the front since she was smaller. I grinned as we went down. Max looked back at me and returned my grin. _That was cool._

I nodded. "It was. What do you want to do next?" I asked. Max spotted Iggy and Gazzy by the Lazy River. You know, that slow moving river that the kids that are too young and the adults that are too old for the rides go on? Max grinned at me and I could tell we were both thinking the same thing.

We snuck up behind them and shoved them in, Max getting Gazzy and me getting Iggy. They had been relatively dry before that, but now they were drenched. We laughed at them and ran, while they chased us around, yelling and threatening us the whole way. We lost them somewhere by the store with the giant shark hanging over the door.

I grinned at Max, who was still laughing. I don't blame her. Iggy and Gazzy's faces had been priceless. "It's probably about time for lunch." I said. Max nodded in agreement and we walked to the food court. We grabbed a couple towels on the way and started drying ourselves up a bit.

Angel, Ella, and Nudge grinned at us, a glaring Iggy and Gazzy next to them. Angel ran up and threw herself at Max, who easily caught her. Angel wrapped her small arms around Max's neck and squeezed. Max chuckled and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Iggy and Gazzy told us what you did to them. I think Angel approves." Ella said, giggling.

"Yeah, I'm so mad I missed it. They're faces must have been hilarious!" Nudge added, practically bouncing off the walls. "Where do you guys want to eat? I was kind of thinking pizza. Or maybe tacos."

Max shrugged and looked at me. "Anywhere is fine with me." I said.

We all ended up getting several different things, that I don't feel like listing. "What do you guys want to do now?" Nudge asked.

_Should we stick together, or do you guys want to split up again?_ Max asked.

"I want to go with you this time." Angel said, hugging Max. "Can we do that water race thing with the mats? I saw it when me, Nudge, and Ella were walking around." Max smiled down at her and nodded. _Are you guys coming?_

"Actually, Gazzy and I were going to go on this big water slide we saw." Iggy said.

"And Nudge and I wanted to go on the lazy river." Ella added.

_I guess it's just us three then._ Max said, looking at me and Angel. We nodded and everyone went their separate ways. Angel held Max's hand, while Max looked around for the mat race. It was just a water slide with a mat, nothing too big or extravagant, but Angel wanted to go on it. Finally we found it and got on. Angel won by a hair's length. Max came last, her mat having stopped about five feet from the finish line. She seemed annoyed about this, but she congratulated Angel like a good sport.

We only got to ride a few more rides before we had to go home. Max drove us back. Dr. M was waiting for us, and the family insisted we stay for the night. Of course, we agreed. We just had to go back to our house to get clothes. When we got back, we found that Max and the others had fixed up the living room for us, making all the make-shift beds we'd need.

"Max, let me sleep on the floor. You can sleep on the couch." I said a while later. Max and I had been sitting on the couch together as we watched _Bounty Hunter_, but now she moved to the floor. She stubbornly shook her head. "Fine, then I'm sleeping on the floor with you." I said, just as stubborn.

I laid down next to her with my pillow and blanket. Max ignored me. Or, I thought she was ignoring me. But when I looked closer, I saw that she was already asleep, worn out from the events of the day. I chuckled and slowly drifted off to sleep, in between Max and Angel.

**AN: Sorry if the ending isn't good, but it's 4:30 in the morning. And, again, I am so sorry about the late review. I've just had so much going on that it's a little difficult. But I promise that I'll update as soon as I can. Any ideas/suggestions are always appreciated! Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Yo. I'm back! My dog is pregnant with, like, five pups! She's huge!**

…**Sorry, I'm just kind of excited. I'll do what you really want me to do now. Shut up and get to the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own MR.**

(Max's POV)

"Max! Wake up! Wake up! _Wake up!_" It's times like these I really wish I could talk. Then I could tell my little siblings to shut the hell up and let me go to sleep. But it's just never that easy, is it? "Wake up, Max!" the persistent little buggers, aka Angel and Gazzy, screamed while jumping on my bed.

"You know they aren't going to stop, Max." I heard Ella say.

I internally groaned and rolled over onto my back. Then, Angel landed on my stomach and knocked the breath out of me. My eyes snapped open and I grimaced, rubbing my stomach. I shot her a _Watch it._ look and then literally rolled out of bed. _Alright, I'm up, I'm up. Now get out of my room._ I said, herding the kids out of my room. Ella was standing in the doorway, laughing at my torture.

"Get dressed. We're going over to the Griffiths' house." she said. I groggily nodded, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and shooing her out of my room. I threw on some dark blue jeans and a black shirt that said, "I'm immature, unorganized, irresponsible, and loud. BUT I'M FUN!" I put on black Vans and ran downstairs. I walked over to the Griffiths' (aka Fang's) house with Ella, Angel, and Gazzy. Mom was at work.

Ella knocked on the door and Chloe answered. "Hey, guys. We're all having breakfast if you would like to join us." she said, moving aside so we could come in.

"Thank you!" my siblings chorused. I smiled and nodded to her. She returned my smile and followed us into the kitchen. We all grabbed some food that Iggy made (He is the best cook ever, by the way.), and sat down. I sat down next to Fang, who smiled at me. "Hey." he said. I nodded and then dug in.

"So, we were thinking about going to a party tonight." Iggy said. "Would you guys like to go with us? It's a teen only party."

"Sure! Sounds fun, right Max?" Ella said, obviously excited. I shook my head and grimaced. The last thing I need to be surrounded by a bunch of chatty teens that will try and get me to talk.

"Come on." Fang said. "Don't leave me to suffer alone. I'll stay with you the whole night. Promise."

I considered it. It might not be so bad if Fang was there. "Please Max." I heard. I made the mistake of looking up and saw both Ella and Nudge giving me Bambi Eyes. I grimaced and looked away, but I was already caught. I sighed in defeat, and Nudge, Ella, and Iggy all cheered. Fang gave me _You're such a suck up._ smirk. Which I glared at him for.

"Don't worry, Max! I have the perfect dress for you! It's going to be awesome!" Nudge said excitedly.

I quickly shook my head. _I'm not going if I have to wear dress._ I said. The girls started protesting, but I gave them a stern look. My _Not even the cutest Bambi Eyes in the world can change my mind._ look. They sighed in defeat, while I smirked triumphantly. Then I remembered why I was arguing with them about dresses, and I wasn't so triumphant any more. I _really_ didn't think this party was a good idea.

(Fang's POV)

I really didn't want to go to this party, but Nudge and Iggy were forcing me to. So, here I was in black pants, and a black dress shirt. The shirt was untucked, and it wasn't buttoned up all the way. Right now, I was driving Nudge, Ella, and Iggy to the party. Max said that she'd meet us there, since my car only had four seats, and Iggy insisted that we had to take it, since it was the "cool car". We pulled up in Lissa's driveway. Yeah, this is why I didn't want to go. It's _Lissa's_ party. Of course, we didn't tell Max that because she would've freaked. Just then, a black and red motorcycle came flying in the driveway, stopping beside me. The driver took off their helmet and it was…Max. I didn't even know she had a bike. She was wearing dark blue jeans and a black and green plaid shirt. The shirt was a lighter green at the top, and got darker and darker as it went down. It was completely unbuttoned and she had a black tank top on underneath it. Her blond hair was straight.

She got off the bike and walked over to me. She looked at the big, fancy, expensive house and her eyebrows rose. _Who owns this place?_ she asked.

I cleared my throat and mumbled, "Lissa." But thanks to Max's good hearing, she heard it. She looked at me in disbelief, then she looked pissed. She turned and headed back to her bike, but I grabbed her wrist. "Look, Max, I'm sorry, but we knew you wouldn't come if we told you. Please stay. After all, you're not the one she's stalking." I said, pleading with my eyes. _Come on, Max. Just stay_, I thought.

She sighed, then nodded. _But you owe me. Big time._ she said. I nodded. "Got it." I said, relieved. I then realized I was still holding her wrist. I let go, and quickly looked away. Because, for some reason, I was blushing. "Come on. Let's go inside."

Max followed me inside. Honestly, I'd been here for one other party, so I was kinda familiar with the house. Max, however, wasn't. She looked at everything. From the big, giant staircase, to the art pieces hanging on the wall. _Geez. I didn't know Lissa had this much money. Still, I think everything is too fancy._ she said.

I nodded in agreement. Lissa came downstairs in a skimpy shirt and a jean skirt that should've been considered underwear. I made it a point to look at her face, and saw Iggy doing the same. "Hey, guys." she said flirtingly. She looked at Nudge and Ella. "Hi. I love what you're wearing." she said. Then she looked at Max. "You too." she added, as if in afterthought.

Max studied her, then grimaced. She took out a notebook out of her pocket and wrote, _I can't say the same for you._ Lissa glared at her. "This is my party. I can kick you out." she sneered.

_It wouldn't be the first time._ Max replied. She looked at Ella. _Remember that time in California? Good times…good times._ Ella giggled and Max's shoulders shook in silent laughter.

Ella decided to elaborate for the rest of us. "We went to a party at this girl's house once, back when we lived in California. Max absolutely hated the girl, but she didn't want me to go alone. So we went and Max and I were actually having fun at first. Then this girl tried to make fun of Max for not being able to talk. So Max punched her in the face, breaking the girls jaw. Max got thrown out by her brother for it, but it was still hilarious. The girl was screaming something about how her beautiful face was ruined or something. It was great." she said, still laughing. She and Max high-fived, grinning. Even the others were laughing at this point.

"Nice." I said, smirking.

Lissa wasn't amused. "Come on. Everyone else is upstairs." she said, then started heading back up. We followed her and entered this big room. Stereos were blasting out music so loud, I'm surprised my ear drums didn't burst. Max grimaced next to me as we walked into the crowded room. She instantly grabbed my wrist and brought me over to a less crowded part of the room. _I don't do well with crowds._ she said. I nodded. "Me neither." I replied, smiling slightly, trying to be reassuring. "Think about it this way, we only have three hours left."

Max smacked her forehead and shook her head disappointedly. Then Lissa came up to us again. Damn stalker! Geez! I saw Max roll her eyes in annoyance, probably thinking the same thing I was. "So, Fang, you want to dance?" she asked in what was supposed to be a seductive voice.

"No thanks. I'm not much of a dancer." I replied.

"Aw. Come on. Please?" she asked.

"No. I don't dance." I said firmly. I looked over at Max. "Do you dance?" She sighed. _I guess. I used to know this guy who taught me and Ella some stuff._ she replied. _I definitely can't dance to this crap though._ Justin Bieber was blasting through the stereos. _I swear that he's taking over the world._

"Yeah, no kidding." I replied. "He's freaking everywhere."

"I like him." Lissa cut in. "I think he's hot."

I rolled my eyes. "The boy hasn't even gone through puberty. The first time I heard him, I thought he was a girl. Besides, you know once his voice deepens he'll never be able to sing any of these songs again. As soon as puberty hits, that kid's career will be down the drain." I said.

Max shrugged. _You never know. That's what they thought about Usher too. And he was the one who found Justin._ she pointed out.

"Hey, Lissa! Come here!" Someone called. It was amazing that we could hear it over the music. She excused herself.

_Isn't there anywhere we can go to get away from her?_ Max asked me.

I sighed. "That's what having a stalker means. It means that everywhere I go, she goes. If I could get rid of her, I would." I said. _Oh. Well, in that case…_ She started to walk away until I grabbed the back of her shirt. "Where do you think you're going?" I could feel her laugh and she looked back at me, amusement shining in her eyes. _Relax. I was kidding._

"You better be. You are not leaving me alone with her. She is the devil in disguise!" I growled. Max grinned at me. "Come on. Let's go somewhere that's quieter."

I led her over to the back of the room. There was a huge balcony there. I opened one of the doors and let her through, closing it behind us. We could still hear the music, but it wasn't nearly as loud. I saw Max visibly relax as she breathed in the cool night air. "Better?" I asked, amused. _Much._ she replied, looking relieved. I laughed.

Unfortunately, I could see Lissa inside looking for us. "Lissa alert." I said, more serious this time. Max caught the change in my tone and turned to look at her. Lissa saw us, and she looked pissed. She came out and grabbed my wrist, dragging me back through the door. I noticed that "Two Is Better Than One" by Boys like Girls was playing. "Come on, Fang. Let's dance."

"Actually," I said, pulling my wrist out of her grip, "I just asked Max to dance with me." I said, grabbing said girl's wrist. She looked at me in surprise, but went with it. I took her onto the dance floor and then just stood there, not exactly knowing what I was doing. "Help me. I've never really danced before." I said. For some reason, that made me blush, especially when I knew Max was laughing at me.

_Just follow my lead_, she replied. _It's not that hard._ She took my hands and placed them on her waist. She placed her hands on my shoulders and started dancing. All we really did was this little swaying to the side thing and out feet moved slightly. It was…nice though. "How am I doing?" I asked. Max shrugged and nodded. I took that as a "Not bad." Or maybe a "At least you haven't stepped on my feet."

Finally, the song stopped and we went to the snack bar, grabbing some punch and snacks. We just hung around the rest of the time, talking and goofing off. Finally, it was time to leave. "Bye guys." Lissa said. She looked at me flirtingly. "Thanks for coming."

We all nodded and walked out to the driveway. "Hey, Fang, can we get some ice cream." Nudge asked once we got outside.

I shrugged. "Sure." When we got back, I checked out Max's bike. I'd always wanted one, but Mom said she didn't want me to get one. That they were too dangerous. "This is pretty cool." I said.

Max smirked. _Thanks. Mom got it for me for my birthday last year._ she replied.

"Hey, you still have that extra helmet, right?" Ella asked her. Max looked slightly confused, but nodded. "Then why can't Iggy drive us and Fang can ride with you? You guys can meet us there."

Max shrugged and looked at me, saying it was my call. "Alright." I took my keys out. Iggy reached for them, but I pulled away. "I'm warning you. You crash my baby, and I will kill you slowly and painfully." I warned, glaring at him.

He raised his hands. "I will not crash your baby." he replied.

"You better not." I said, giving him the keys. When I turned around, Max handed me the black helmet, holding a dark blue one. _I figured you'd appreciate the black,_ she said. Then she put her helmet on and got on the bike. I put on mine and got on behind her, reluctantly wrapping my arms around her waist. She put the key in and then we were off. "Do you know where we're going?" I yelled over the wind. She shook her head.

So, that's how I was stuck giving directions to Max, who, might I add, is an insane driver. I swear, she almost killed us ten times, _at_ _least_. And the shop was only fifteen minutes away! When we finally stopped, I shakily got off and took my helmet off. "Holy crap, you're insane." I said. She just grinned.

Iggy parked beside us and eyed Max. "Uh…I think you were speeding." he said.

"No shit, Sherlock." I said, shaking my head. I don't' think the speedometer ever hit under sixty-five. She shrugged. _What can I say? I'm a speed demon, _she said.

And that, my friends, is the text book definition of an understatement.

**AN: Sorry if it's not that great. I know I said in my other story that I would try to update all my stories during this weekend. Unfortunately, that means was before I knew that my dog Lola was going to have puppies yesterday. So now I'm helping to take care of them, so I'm really sorry if I can't update soon. But they are so cute! Anyways, review and tell me what you think. Also, any ideas/suggestions are always considered!**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Hey guys, sorry for the long update. But I'm back and ready for action! Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own MR.**

(Fang's POV)

I went over to Max's house and knocked on the door. I waited for about a minute, then knocked again. I was about to just walk away when she opened the door. Her hair was mussed, and she was her pajamas. She looked half asleep, and was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and leaning against the door. She took a second to focus on me, then raised an eyebrow. _What are you doing here?_ she asked.

I shrugged. "I was bored. I thought you'd be up." I replied. She rolled her eyes, but stepped aside and waved me in. "Where is everyone?" I looked around the empty, quiet house. The place looked so weird when Angel, Gazzy, and Ella weren't being loud and jumping around like a bunch of hyped up Energizer Bunnies. In a loving way, of course.

_Mom's at work, and Ella took Angel and Gazzy to the park. I didn't want to go._ she replied, collapsing on the couch. I sat down on a recliner next to her. "So, what are we going to do?" I asked.

Max shrugged. _I don't care_, she said.

"If you're too tired, I can just come back later." I said.

She flipped around so that she was laying on her back instead of her stomach. _It's fine_, she said, even though she yawned right after. _I should've been up an hour ago anyways. I was just being lazy._

"We could go see a movie." I said. Max shook her head. "Or go to the arcade." She nodded. _I'll drive._

"Oh, no. You almost killed us last night." I said.

Max made a show of looking offended. _I am a very good driver, thank you_, she said.

I rolled my eyes. "How many crashes have you been in?" I asked.

She grew serious suddenly. _Too many. Most of these scars are from crashes. I used to race. Cars, motorcycles._ She shrugged. _It was fun. The adrenaline rush…there's no other feeling like it. _

"What made you quit?" I asked.

Pain filled Max's eyes and she shrugged. _I realized that there were more important things. I couldn't risk dying in a crash. I have a family to help take care of_, she replied.

I shook my head. "Fine. You can drive." I said, changing the subject. "But you can't go sixty-five. The speed limit is only forty."

She gave me a mock salute, probably trying to lighten the dark mood she just made. _Sir, yes, sir_, she replied. _Wait here while I get ready._ She came back in wearing black jeans and a dark T-shirt that said, "I Got This Shirt For My Boyfriend." and then in smaller letters, "(Awesome Trade.)" Over that she wore a black jacket and black Converse. Her hair was up in a low ponytail.

"Ready?" I asked.

She nodded and led me out to the garage, where her bike was. Her bike was a black and red Yamaha. It looked awesome, and I could see why she liked to ride it so much. **(AN: I suck at describing things, so I'm going to put the link to the bike on my profile)** She took a helmet off the wall and threw it at me. I caught it and looked down at it. It was one of the kinds that covered your whole head, and had that shade in front of the eyes. The one she threw me was completely black. I recognized it as the one I wore last night. She put on the same dark blue one she had on last night and hopped on. I got on behind her and put my helmet on.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and it felt like electric sparks shot through me. Max turned the bike on and backed us up out of the garage. After shutting the garage door with a button of her key ring, we were off. To my surprise, she actually did obey me, only going forty-five. She pulled into the arcade and hopped off. We left the helmets with the bikes and walked inside.

We went in for a round of laser tag. It was the two of us against a group of four people. The guy tried to even it out, but we assured him it was fine, since it was obvious the guy that he wanted to come over didn't want anything to do with us. Needless to say, we kicked their butts. After that, we played Rockband, some shooting games, some racing games. We even played ski ball. Where Max totally owned me.

Finally, we made our way back out of the arcade, laughing our butts off. Neither one of us wanted to go home, so we decided to go bowling. There, I finally beat her. Sure, it was close, but it still counts. Of course, I had to rub it in her face, and, of course, she tripped me. We were having a great time until I heard a voice I knew all too well. Once you hear that screeching voice, you never forget it. It's engrained in your head forever. _"Fangy!"_

Max sighed and rolled her eyes. Apparently she recognized the voice as well. We both turned around just in time for a flash of red hair to launch itself at me. Lissa. She wrapped her arms around my neck in a hug, which I quickly disentangled myself from. "Hey! I was hoping I'd run into you!" she said, grinning. Then she noticed Max. "What are _you_ doing here?" she asked, glaring.

Max took out her ever-trusty notebook. _Um…bowling? That's what you usually do in a BOWLING alley_, she replied, raising an eyebrow.

Lissa's expression turned horrified. "You two aren't on a _date_, are you?" she screeched.

I could feel the heat coming to my cheeks and opened my mouth to deny it, but then I felt someone's arm wrap around my waist, and it seemed like a million neurons fired up at once wherever it touched me. I looked down. It was _Max's _arm. _Yeah, we are_, she said. She glanced up and me and pinched me when she noticed I was staring at her with a deer-in-the-headlights look, giving me a look that clearly said _just go with it_. I shook my head and nodded. "Um, yeah, that's right. We are on a date." I said.

Lissa's eyes filled with tears. "Fang, how can you do this to me?" she asked, her bottom lip trembling.

"Sorry." I said, not feeling very sorry.

"You! This is all your fault! You stole my boyfriend!" she shrieked, pointing her finger at Max. She went to slap her, but Max quickly dodged and snapped her leg out, knocking Lissa's feet out from under her. _Come on_, she said, grabbing my wrist and pulling me out. I could hear Lissa crying behind us.

"Where did that come from?" I asked. Not that I minded fake-dating with Max. It just wasn't something I expected from her.

She shrugged. _It got rid of her, didn't it? Besides, I like messing with Lissa's head. It's fun_, she replied, grinning.

I shook my head. "You're lucky you're my best friend. If it was anyone else, I wouldn't go for it." I told her.

Max rolled her eyes. _Well don't I feel special._ She fastened her helmet on and I followed suite, jumping on the bike behind her. She drove us back home and we went up to the porch. Everyone was inside her house.

"Where have you guys been?" Ella asked.

"We went to the arcade and then bowling." I answered.

_By the way, Fang and I are dating now_, Max added.

"Really?" Ella and Angel squealed. Nudge joined them when they told her what Max had said. Even Dr. M was smiling. Max covered her ears. _Um, maybe I should've rephrased that._

"Yeah, maybe." I said, rolling my eyes. Then I raised my voice to be heard over the squealing. "Enough! We aren't actually dating."

"Huh?" Gazzy asked, confused.

"We're fake-dating. We met Lissa at the bowling alley. When she saw me and Max alone together, she assumed we were going on a date. Then Max came up with the brilliant idea of telling her she was right. So now, hopefully, she'll leave me alone since she thinks Max and I are going out." I explained. They all stared at me.

"That's the most I've ever heard you say." Iggy stated, shocked. Then he flung himself at me and hugged me. "I'm so proud of you! They grow up so fast!" He looked at Max. "What's your secret?" he asked.

Max shrugged. _I'm the quiet one. I guess he's just getting used to having to be the conversationist around me._ She turned to look at me. _Besides, she _might_ leave you alone. Or she could just try to "steal" you from me._

"Well, if that happens, doesn't that mean this plan is pointless?" I asked.

She grinned. _Nope. Now I'll actually have an excuse to beat the crap out of her when she inevitably annoys me too much_, she replied, grinning.

"Either way, I think you guys should date for real." Nudge said. "You guys would make a great couple."

Ella and Angel nodded in agreement and I saw Max blush a little. _No thanks_, she said before walking into the kitchen to find some food. You know, I actually don't think I'd mind dating Max for real.

**AN: Sorry if the endings not very good. I didn't exactly know how to put this. So, what do you think about the racing idea? I just came up with it and decided to change the story just a bit for it, but it will still fit in nicely with the whole plot. I like the idea, but review and tell me what you think. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys. I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a while, but I've been grounded for a long time. I can barely give you guys this. I'm sooooooo sorry and please forgive me. I swear I will update as soon as I can, but it's going to be hard. I'm really sorry that I can't update and be patient with me. There's only so much I can do, because I'm really stressed right now. **

**Your really apologetic author,**

**Wolflover777**


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